Estimation of the intercept parameter for linear regression model with uncertain non-sample prior information

This paper considers alternative estimators of the intercept parameter of the linear regression model with normal error when uncertain non-sample prior information about the value of the slope parameter is available. The maximum likelihood, restricted, preliminary test and shrinkage estimators are considered. Based on their quadratic biases and mean square errors the relative performances of the estimators are investigated. Both analytical and graphical comparisons are explored. None of the estimators is found to be uniformly dominating the others. However, if the non-sample prior information regarding the value of the slope is not too far from its true value, the shrinkage estimator of the intercept parameter dominates the rest of the estimators.     

Learning organization and development of woman managers in Pakistan

Women's participation in economic activities in general and at managerial status in particular is insignificant in Pakistan. Furthermore, the opportunities for professional development of women managers are meagre because of multiple socio-cultural limitations. This paper attempts to draw a profile of female managers focusing, inter alia, on the trend and structure of women's human resource, ratio of employment, work environment and scope of development, efficiency at work, satisfaction level, professional commitment and forces inhibiting women access to jobs under the learning organization perspectives. It also exhibits issues bearing policy implications in regard to the development of women as managers and also as human resource.     

Migration pattern in Bangladesh: a covariate-dependent Markov model

Internal migration is one of the major components of rapid and unplanned growth of towns and cities especially in the developing countries. This paper describes the transition pattern of internal out migration in Bangladesh and some sociodemographic factors influencing such migration in the country using a covariate-dependent Markov model. Four types of migration behavior namely, rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to rural and urban to urban are under consideration of this paper. Defining two discrete states, urban and rural, each of such transition can be characterized by a stochastic process; hence we use a two-state Markov chain for this purpose. We find that age, sex, division and reason of migration are significantly associated with internal migration in Bangladesh. The major findings include that any type of migration, rural to rural, rural to urban, urban to rural and urban to urban, mostly take place at the ages of 15–30 as well as at the ages of 0–15; females have higher odds than males to make a migration; Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong divisions have remarkably higher migration rate as compared to Barisal and Sylhet division; and the professional reason is the main reason for rural to urban migration.     

Health Disorder of Climate Migrants in Khulna City: An Urban Slum Perspective

As the most vulnerable climatic region in the country, Khulna City is increasingly experiencing climate‐change‐induced urban problems. For instance, occupancy by climate migrants (delete the term “illegal migrant”), drainage congestion, water logging and reduced fresh water availability are all increasing problems. In the last decade, the population in the city increased by more than 20 per cent due to migration from nearby climate vulnerable districts. This study explores the health disorders of climate migrants occupying the urban slums and squats of the Khulna City area. This study found that these climate migrants settled in the urban slums and squats and, as such, they do not have access to urban amenities such as clean drinking water, hygiene services, and health facilities. This study noted that these displaced people are at increased risk of health issues from unhygienic and overcrowded living conditions and from water and sanitation problems. They often suffer from different waterborne diseases, under‐nutrition and micronutrient deficiencies. This study suggests that there is a need for better planning, preparation and training in Bangladesh to which migrants move, including better training in health and related services on how to recognize and respond to health problems that may be slow to manifest. Education and training also need to be provided for the migrants themselves, to help them adapt culturally and to enhance their skills and potential for employment.     

Feminization and Labor Vulnerability in Global Manufacturing Industries: Does Gendered Discourse Matter?

Two contested arguments persist in explaining the causes of feminization and labor vulnerability. Some scholars argue that global industries are dominated by female workers as a result of the search for cheap labor. On the other hand, some scholars claim that the primary cause of feminization and labor vulnerability is the gendered discourses of work. Drawing views from readymade garment (RMG) industries of Bangladesh, this paper argues that both economic choices of cheap labor and gendered discourses of work collaboratively contribute to feminizing the labor force. This feminization of the workforce enables the violation of labor rights and benefits capitalists.     

Variable selection for survival data with a class of adaptive elastic net techniques

The accelerated failure time (AFT) models have proved useful in many contexts, though heavy censoring (as for example in cancer survival) and high dimensionality (as for example in microarray data) cause difficulties for model fitting and model selection. We propose new approaches to variable selection for censored data, based on AFT models optimized using regularized weighted least squares. The regularized technique uses a mixture of \(\ell _1\) and \(\ell _2\) norm penalties under two proposed elastic net type approaches. One is the adaptive elastic net and the other is weighted elastic net. The approaches extend the original approaches proposed by Ghosh (Adaptive elastic net: an improvement of elastic net to achieve oracle properties, Technical Reports 2007) and Hong and Zhang (Math Model Nat Phenom 5(3):115–133 2010), respectively. We also extend the two proposed approaches by adding censoring observations as constraints into their model optimization frameworks. The approaches are evaluated on microarray and by simulation. We compare the performance of these approaches with six other variable selection techniques-three are generally used for censored data and the other three are correlation-based greedy methods used for high-dimensional data.     

Regression model with elliptically contoured errors

For the regression model y=X β+ε where the errors follow the elliptically contoured distribution, we consider the least squares, restricted least squares, preliminary test, Stein-type shrinkage and positive-rule shrinkage estimators for the regression parameters, β.

We compare the quadratic risks of the estimators to determine the relative dominance properties of the five estimators.     

The Feminist “Quarantine” on Hijab: A Study of Its Two Mutually Exclusive Sets of Meanings

The discourse on feminism is sharply polarized between those who regard hijab as essentially debilitating and those who see it as an enabling tool for dignity, self-worth and freedom. This article will discuss both the negative and positive associations of hijab and point out ways it is used by Muslim women for liberatory ends. It will go against the grain of a common argument that hijab equates seclusion and constraints on women’s participation in public life hence it is inherently oppressive. I will argue that hijab can potentially be used for diametrically opposite purposes. While acknowledging the fact that the Islamic dress code for women can be misused by patriarchal power systems as well as by women themselves, I will put forth arguments against dismissive and uncritical criticism of hijab.     

Child Rights Practice among the Indigenous Communities in Bangladesh

The objective of this article was to explore the practice of child rights among the indigenous communities of Bangladesh. We used a mixed method approach to collect data from four ethnic communities in the Bandarban District of the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. We questioned children, parents, community members, local leaders, and service providers of those communities on a number of child rights issues, for example, child education, child labor, child recreation and culture, parents' guidance to children for capacity development, and access to child rights at home and in the community according to Convention on the Rights of the Child treaty. The results showed that while the community was aware of child rights, financial vulnerability and a lack of social support meant that these rights could not be upheld in practice. The paper urges improvement of social support, including income generation activities for indigenous communities.